1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply switch of an auxiliary apparatus located a back door or a slide door of a vehicle like a motor vehicle for electrical connection to a power source of a base body side of the vehicle.
2. Related Art
A motor vehicle has various auxiliary apparatuses such as a rear wiper and a door lock located in a back door, a slide door, etc. For these apparatuses, various types of power supply switches have been proposed.
FIG. 5 shows a prior-art power supply switch 51 of a motor vehicle which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-62545. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 53 designates a base body side connector, and 52 designates a movable body side connector.
The base body side connector 53 has an insulating resin housing 71 and a plurality of receptacle terminals 65 adjacently parallel arranged in the housing 71. The housing 71 has an upper cover (not shown) and a lower cover (not shown).
The housing 71 is provided with openings 77 for insertion of pin tab terminals 55. Inside each opening 77, each receptacle terminal 65 is received. Each opening 77 is closed by a pair of synthetic resin made shutters 75 provided in a forward side of each receptacle terminal 65. The housing 71 is fixed by an inclined flange (not shown) to a vehicle body.
The receptacle terminal 65 of the base body side connector 53 is openably supported by a metal cylindrical shaft (support shaft) 76 and is urged by a coil spring (resilient member) 72 provided around the cylindrical shaft 76 in a closing direction thereof. The coil spring 72 has a coil portion 73 and a pair of legs 74 extended rearward from the coil portion 73.
The receptacle terminal 65 has a pair of contact pieces each constituted by a hinge plate portion (not shown), a side plate portion (spring receiving portion) 66 rising vertically from the hinge portion, an inclined portion 67 inclined forward from the side plate portion 66, and a contact portion 68 contiguous to the inclined portion 67.
A pair of the hinge portions overlap one another and are pressed by the coil portion 73 of the coil spring 72 on an electrical pole portion (not shown) in a side of the housing 71. The coil spring 72 urges the contact portions 68 and the hinge portions of the electrical pole portion (not shown). The electrical pole portion is connected to power supply lines (not shown) through a female connector portion (not shown).
In a forward end side of each receptacle terminal 65, there are provided the pair of shutters 75 which are opened together with the contact portions 68. Each shutter 75 has an inward inclined guide surface and a closing surface positioned at an inner end of the guide surface. In a closed state of the contact portions 68, the pair of shutters 75 contact with each other to prevent the entry of water drips or dust into the contact portion 68 through the opening 77 of the housing 71.
The movable body side connector 52 is constituted by an insulating resin housing 58, a tab terminal 55 resiliently urged in the housing 58 to extend forward, and a cushion 61 positioned outside an electrical contact portion 54 of the tab terminal 55. The cushion 61, which is made of rubber or the like, faces the base body side connector 53. The housing 58 has a front cover 57 and a rear cover 56. The tab terminal 55 is mounted while the cover 56 is removed from the housing 58.
In a base end side of the electrical contact portion 54 of the tab terminal 55, there are provided a spring retaining projection (not shown) and a spring receiving recess (not shown). Between the spring retaining projection and a spring retaining projection 59 of the cover 56, there is disposed a compression coil spring 60. The resilient force of the compression coil spring 60 is determined to be larger than the insertion force of the tab terminal 55 into the receptacle terminal 65. The tab terminal 55 moves rearward to compress the coil spring 60 when the tab terminal 55 receives an external force.
The tab terminal 55 has a connection portion (not shown) upwardly rising from the base side of the electrical contact portion 54. The connection portion is fitted with another terminal (not shown) connected to an electrical wire.
However, the extended tab terminal 55 of the prior-art power supply switch may disadvantageously receive an unintentional force which will undesirably bend the tab terminal, because the switch is used in a slide door or a back door which is often opened and closed for access to the inside of the vehicle. Furthermore, the tab terminal 55 is long in length and narrow in width so that the electrical connection thereof may be prevented due to an incorrect alignment with the associated receptacle terminal. A heavy tab terminal having a shorter length improves its strength but requires a larger space with a larger connector housing. Moreover, when a door mounted with the switch is opened, the exposed forward end of the tab terminal 55 may undesirably catch water drips or dust to cause an incorrect electrical connection or an unintentional shirt circuit.